The Forest
by AHvY1920
Summary: "Don't go into the forest" that has always been an unofficial rule in the town of Magnolia. But that didn't stop four teens from venturing in... *Full summary inside* AN: I have no idea where i'm going with this...
1. Chapter 1

**I originally planned this as a one-shot, but now it's a multi-chapter story. **

**There may be some OOC... I don't know, you decide. I apologize in advance for misspelled words and wrong grammar. **

** Please be kind and review. Whether I post the next chapter or not depends on how many of you guys want me to update.**

** Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story, nor do I own Fairy Tail. **

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**Chapter 1**

Three teenage boys were out and early. In front of what looks like the edge of a dense forest, surrounded by thick foliage. They all had a look of uncertainty and annoyance on their faces.

"We shouldn't be doing this guys" a blue haired teen with a red tattoo on his right eye said to his companions.

"Don't be such a pansy, Jellal" a guy with piercings all over his face replied, he didn't want to be there just as much as Jellal wanted to be.

"This is our end of the bargain. I still can't believe we lost the bet" a raven haired boy crossed his arms over his bare chest.

"Gray, your shirt" Jellal said with a sigh.

"How in the world...?" Gray asked in wonder, looking around for his missing shirt.

"And Gajeel" Jellal turned to the guys with piercings. "I'm not being a 'pansy'. If were caught, what do you think will happen?" the bluenette stood straight and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, I know" Gajeel snorted "If you wanna blame someone. Blame that pink-haired-idiot Salamander" he spat out irritably.

"Who're you calling idiot, Tin Can?!" a teen with pink hair stumbled out of the bushes. "And my hair isn't pink, it's salmon!"

"Shhhh! Pipe down Fire Breath or do you want to get caught!" Gray half whispered half yelled.

"You piped down Stripper!" the so called fire breath said back

"Either of you shut up, or I'll make you shut up!" Gajeel joined the yelling, getting ready to hit the two.

"All of you quiet" Jellal gave them the scariest glare they've seen. The three gulped _'He's scary when he wants to be' _they thought.

"Good. It's nice that you could join us, Natsu" Jellal nodded at the pinkette, acting as though he was not, just a moment ago, wishing the three of them would die on the spot.

"Yeah... it's nice to be here" Natsu was a little disturbed on how quickly their friend changed moods.

"It's your fault why we're here in the first place" Gajeel said getting back some of his composure.

"At least you could've done is be on time for once" Gray added

"Hey I was... busy" Natsu said looking away. The three rolled their eyes at his lame excuse.

"Anyway, the sooner we get this over with, the better" Jellal stated as he went through a hole in the old fence, completely ignoring the sign saying "NO TRESPASSING". The three followed suit.

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**So ... there you have it, probably a little short, but hey I'm just experimenting. Anyway as mentioned, please review because it's up to you whether I'll post the next chapter**

**Hoped you enjoyed reading...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yeah I know its been a while but i got a little depressed that no one reviewed **

**But i'm still glad one person followed **

**So here's the story...**

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_Previously: _

"It's your fault why we're here in the first place" Gajeel said getting back some of his composure.

"At least you could've done is be on time for once" Gray added

"Hey I was... busy" Natsu said looking away. The three rolled their eyes at his lame excuse.

"Anyway, the sooner we get this over with, the better" Jellal stated as he went through a hole in the old fence, completely ignoring the sign saying "NO TRESPASSING". The three followed suit.

**Chapter 2**

Ok whose (a little) confuse? Well then let me explain. As you may have guessed our heroes lost a bet and as stated Natsu's responsible for their lost. What and how did they lose doesn't matter at the moment. So, let's focus on their, as said earlier, 'end of the bargain'. The boys have to go into a forest where it is said that people have gone missing for as long as... anybody could remember. That's why the town put up a tall fence along the boundary of the town and the forest, around twenty or so years ago. They also tell people not to enter the forest. Though some still go, out of curiosity maybe, they never come back and even if they did they wouldn't remember anything of going. Though no one goes in there anymore.

The local government couldn't clear the forest or investigate because the land is owned by a mysterious but powerful person. The thing is, nobody knows who that person is. Yes, there have been rumors about the place, most of which are just stories made up by parents, to scare the little ones. But among the lies and make-believe stories, is a legend as old as the town itself. The elderly residents claim that their grandparents told them, which in turn were told by their grandparents and so on, that there is a stone rock, carved into the mountain, on the other side of the forest, shaped as though it were an angel. They also said that there's an underground spring flowing beneath the mountain and that the water reaches the surface through where the stone angel's eyes suppose to be. That's why the rock formation was called 'The Weeping Angel', though no one could confirm if there really was a stone structure like that in the forest. The place has been closed off from the public since before they decided to set up the fence. And if the people who went missing really did go into the forest they were probably lured by the water. Part of the legend says that the water has healing properties; some even say that it could be the legendary fountain of youth. But none could be sure, the only one that probably knows is the mysterious powerful person who no one has ever met or seen.

Anyway back to the present. And here's where we left off, Jellal was leading, next is Gajeel his arms crossed, Gray comes third with his hands in his pocket and last, Natsu with his arms behind his head. They were bored, very bored.

"How much longer till we reach this statue thing?" Natsu yelled

"Quiet Natsu!" Jellal stopped abruptly to glare at the pinkette that resulted in a pile up.

"Oi! Don't stop suddenly" Gray said, rubbing his nose

"Don't get your panties in a bunch" Gajeel detached himself from the bluenette and walk pass him. "No one's gonna hear and bust us"

"Metal Head's right. Stop being paranoid" Gray said following 'Metal Head'. "I wouldn't be surprised if screams aren't heard from the outside"

"That's not a very funny joke Gray" Jellal sweet dropped along with the other two.

"So back to my question, how far is this statue?" Natsu asked again

"Well, the statue is said to be a myth. But if there is any truth to the stories, it should be found near the mountain" Jellal said as he searched for something inside his bag. "Aha! Found it"

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**Sorry it's a bit short, don't know how to divide the story properly**

**Anyway please review**


	3. Chapter 3

**So... I just checked up on this story and I'm glad there's a review. Thanks Ash Lite -former EST for the review because of it I decided to post this chapter.**

**Anyway please be kind and review.**

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_Previously: _

"So back to my question, how far is this statue?" Natsu asked again

"Well, the statue is said to be a myth. But if there is any truth to the stories, it should be found near the mountain" Jellal said as he searched for something inside his bag. "Aha! Found it"

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**Chapter 3**

"A map?" Gajeel asked

"Two maps" Gray observed

"Might as well come prepared" Jellal unfolded them "A recent one, while this" he held up a brown piece of paper "is the oldest record I found". The guys huddled together.

"Looks like nothing changed over the years" Gray noted

"How long are those two maps apart?" Gajeel asked

"That one" Jellal indicating the map Gray was holding "was done about seven years ago. And this one is... woah! 200 years ago"

"Seriously?!" Natsu shouted "Even old man Makarov isn't that old... is he?" he asked amazed that such a thing could be older than the old man.

"Of course not, idiot" Gajeel said "If he did live 200 years ago, he shouldn't be alive now, would he?" Before Natsu could retort with an answer, Gray snapped at them.

"Enough with the talking" the raven haired teen said and turned his attention to Jellal and the two maps. "So? How far?"

"Well, if we search the entire mountain side, it'll take us forever" the bluenette stated and the three agreed "So we look for the spring"

"How? It's suppose to be underground, right?" Natsu asked

"By looking for a river or a stream at least" Jellal said "If the spring has enough force to flow out of something that's said to be that big, then there should be another way for the water to reach the surface" Jellal looked quite smug after he said that.

"But there isn't a river or stream here" Gray pointed at the map he was holding

"There you go we're just wasting our time" Gajeel said scowling

"Yes, there isn't one on _that_ map" Jellal answered Gray's unsaid question with an unsaid answer, as though Gajeel didn't say anything, Natsu had a confuse look on his face, looking back and forth between Gray and Jellal not following their conversation. Jellal knew Gray understood what he was saying but in order for a certain idiot to understand, he had to explain.

"In the older map there is a river. That's the big difference between the two" the bluenette said as the others looked at the old map. Indeed there was river going through the forest in the old map.

"I don't get it" Natsu scratched the back of his head "How could a river just vanish?"

"Well they are four centuries apart. Anything could've happened" Gajeel said

"Wait, before that, how in Earthland did you get your hands on this map? I understand the other one, but this old one must be an antique. It should be in a museum or something" Gray suddenly asked. The other two realized what the raven haired teen meant; no ordinary person could acquire something like this. The three stared at their friend with the face tattoo.

"I... have my ways" Jellal simply said. The three remained quiet.

"You stole it?!" they screamed.

Jellal just turned around and resumed walking "Now for whatever reason would I do that" he said with a chuckle, though that did little to ease his friends. They gave each other suspicious looks and followed the blue haired man.

"So, how do we find this river that'll lead us to the statue?" Gray asked holding on to the new map while Jellal held on the old one.

"As Gajeel said, 200 years is a long time, anything could've happened. If the river did 'vanish', as Natsu put it, the most logical explanation is that the river dried up. Even so, there should be evidence to where the water used to flow." Jellal answered.

"Like the Grand Canyon?" Natsu asked

"Exactly, though probably not as grand, at least a deep ditch or canal" Jallal said

"And if it didn't dry up then an earth quake would be the next guess" Gajeel gave his opinion, surprisingly he wasn't complaining anymore.

"Right" the bluenette said glad that they were using their heads for once.

"Enough with the geology quiz!" Natsu's head was hurting from thinking too much. The pinkette then took the other map out of Gray's hands.

"Hey!" Gray irritated at the teen's behavior "I'm surprised you knew it was geology"

"Are you insulting me?! Ice Bastard"

"What if I am? Flame Head!"

"Shut up! Both of you!" Jellal yelled grabbing the map from Natsu. So much for using their heads. Gajeel snickered. "And what are you laughing at?" the bluenette glared at the delinquent looking guy daring him to make another sound. Gajeel just shrugged his shoulders and looked away.

"Now" Jellal folded the old map and tucked it inside his jacket brought out a highlighter and drew a line across the other map.

"What are you doing?" Gray asked

"Marking where the river's supposed to be. I don't want to damage the other one. You did say it's an antique, did you not?" Jellal said "I've memorized the old one anyway" he added.

"You've memorized it?" Natsu asked awestruck "Even the weird writing?" he saw the strange squiggly lines, he thought were words on the yellow paper, it was practically alien to him.

"It was just an earlier version of the language we use today"

"Are you sure it's alright to mark this?" Gajeel wondered taking the map from Jellal, looking at the red line which supposedly marks the river. He doubt the people, where Jellal got the map, would be happy if they returned it with a red line written on it. There are very few maps of the forest, it wasn't a tourist spot.

"Yes, they said I could have it" Jellal snatched the piece of paper from Gajeel and started walking again. The guys shook their heads and stared following him. And deeper into the forest they went.

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**About 1,000 words... I decided dividing the chapters for every 500-700 words, more or less, but this chapter wouldn't look right if I did that. I debated whether I would end it here or throw in the suppose to be next chapter, as you can see I chose the former. So expect a short chapter next time.**


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